Nominating Committee Report and Slate of Board Candidates

Greetings Eliot Friends!

Your Nominating Committee has been hard at work matchmaking talent to leadership positions.  This year we were tasked with finding two people to serve as At-Large Candidates, one to serve as our new Treasurer and one for the Nominating Committee.  Many thanks to May Killorin for her third year of service on the committee, to Gavin Grandish representing the board, Joshua Stull who served his first year, and yours truly in her second year.  Thanks also to our amazing President Kay Crider who lent her ad hoc guidance and Zoom hosting for our meetings.  The committee is pleased to present the following slate for the 2024 election cycle:

At Large Positions - Janelle Durham and Rick Duncan

Treasurer - Alexander (Xander) Simmons

Nominating Committee - Suzanne Reynolds

Biographical sketches of the nominees can be found below. 

And thanks to everyone who made suggestions and responded to our phone calls and e-mails as we conducted our search.  It is a pleasure to serve the Eliot Community.

Gratefully Yours,

Drew Betz, Committee Chair

Janelle Durham for Board Member: Janelle, her husband Peter and son Ben first came to July Eliot in 2015, when Ben was 4 years old. Partway through the week, Peter and Janelle looked at each other and said “well, I guess we know what we’re doing every single July from now on.” Janelle has now been to 8 Julys, 4 or 5 Winters, 1 CAE, and August Eliot when it was online, and finds great joy in lots of Eliot activities, but especially sing-alongs and the dances.  Janelle has been a Dean, Volunteer Coordinator, Small Group Coordinator, online AV coordinator, and more and is always happy to help this beloved community in almost any capacity.

Outside Eliot, Janelle has a master’s in social work, but works as a parent educator, teaches kids’ science classes, writes books about pregnancy, and serves as worship team lead and OWL teacher at Northlake UU in Kirkland, WA. She has served on multiple non-profit boards in the past. 

As a one-legged person, and as parent to neurodiverse kids, Janelle can bring insight on those areas, but will never claim to speak for all disabled folk and all our diverse strengths and accommodation needs. 

Rick Duncan for Board Member:  Rick and his family (partner KWD, daughters Fiona and Tallulah, and mother Donna) found Eliot in 2015. On the fateful morning of Rick’s first ever ingathering, there was a call to replace the youth assistant who had caught the flu, and Rick has enjoyed working with the youth ever since! Both August and Winter camps quickly became a treasured family tradition. Rick also had the pleasure to co-dean with the amazing Grace Jones a few years ago. When not sneaking away to Seabeck, Rick and his family live in Bellevue, WA. He is an Engineering Manager at Microsoft, but before you ask, I should warn you that my printer is also broken right now. 

     With Fiona now entering the youth group, Rick is looking for new opportunities to serve the Eliot community. He is honored to be considered for nomination.

Alexander Simmons for Treasurer: Alexander (Xander) (they/she) has been coming to Eliot’s camps, both summer and winter, for most of their life, starting in 2001. Initially attending with their grandmother, Jane Simmons, and mother, Stephanie Simmons, they have always felt that the Eliot community is one that they can rely on to feel safe. Since then, their father, Jim Francis, has often joined on camp staff as the accompanist. Currently, Alexander lives in Des Moines, WA, with their partner, Patrick, and their black cat, Cinder. Their hobbies include playing bass drum in Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ HONK! Brass Band: Burn Out Brass Band, dancing, and spending time with those they love. Having been a Co-Dean for August 2022, as well as being on the Waterfront staff in various previous years, they’re looking for more opportunities to better support the community that has allowed them to grow and thrive. Should they be accepted as Treasurer, Alexander hopes that their work as a Revenue Agent for the Compliance Division of the Washington State Department of Revenue will contribute to the position’s success in the next coming years. They are honored to be considered as a nominee for Eliot’s Treasurer.

Suzanne Reynolds for Nominating Committee Member: Suzanne appreciates being asked to serve on the nominating committee for the Eliot community. She lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband Dennis. She retired from a career, first as a counselor and then as a hospice volunteer coordinator. In her retirement she works through her church on end-of-life issues, facilitating classes and as a lay pastoral associate. She is a hospice volunteer, loves being in nature, hanging out with friends, cooking, and quilting. 

     She has been an Elioteer from the age of 11 when her mother found her way to this wonderful community.  As a young adult she left for a while but found her way back in her 30s, and it was a great reunion, like coming home.  Since then, she has maybe missed one July Eliot in all these years (until Covid, of course). Most of the important people in her life have been a part of this community, her family, and her friends; she evenmet her husband at Eliot! The community has given her so much over the years, and she is happy to serve it.